The Christian Association of Nigeria, Osun State Chapter has advised churches in the state to mount guard and observe security measures, following a threat revealed in a Facebook post warning of an impending attack on a church in the state by some yet-to-be-identified persons.
In the screenshot of the Facebook post shared under the name ‘Anonymous,’ sighted by our correspondent on Saturday, it was said that a church in Osun, called Saint Mary Catholic Church was being targeted for attack on Sunday.
The Facebook post further read, “A church with the name St Mary Catholic Church at a region called Osun region is again targeted for attacks. People close to this church must be made to understand the situation. 23rd July as a date given, we urge everyone out there to get this message across to the church and its management.
“Just like the OWO massacre which we warned, we shall not be happy if this is ignored as the St Francis was. The casualties would be numerous. We warn again!”
Speaking with Osun CAN chairman, Rev John Adeleke, the clergy who said the organisation was aware of the situation, told churches across the state to observe safety measures and report suspicious movement to security men.
The clergy also said security meetings were held with some churches that bear names close to the description given in the Facebook post to review the situation and come up with adequate measures to protect the lives of worshippers.
He further said, “We had meetings with some churches to review the situation. Security men are on top of the situation and we urge churches across the state to ensure that they observe safety measures and report suspicious movement to the security men.”
A very reliable source in CAN who preferred anonymity told our correspondent that the state Commissioner of Police, Kehinde Longe visited some churches in Osogbo on Saturday and met with their leadership on how to enhance security.
Efforts to get an official reaction from the Osun Police Command spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola failed as she was unavailable on her mobile phone as of the time of filing this report.
But a top security source, who preferred not to be named said personnel of the Department of State Security and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps have been deployed to religious centres in the state.
Speaking with our correspondent on what the command was doing to forestall attack in any part of the state, the spokesperson of Osun NSCDC, Kehinde Adeleke, said, “The Commandant, Sunday Agboola has given a marching order to all Area Commanders, Divisional officers across the state to deploy officers to all worship centres and patrol teams have also been deployed across the state.”
